Unexpected Love
by YamiPaladinofChaos
Summary: [Ryoga x Ukyo] When you lose something, sometimes you find what you were really looking for. Written for the 1sentence LJ community.


**Fandom:** Ranma ½

**Pairing: **Ukyo Kuonji x Ryoga Hibiki

**Theme Set:** Beta

**Rating**: PG

Written for the 1sentence LJ community.

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#01 Walking

His journey's always took him far and wide, and always without his meaning to, because he had found someplace he could really call home- even if Ukyo tended to smack him for getting lost at inopportune moments.

#02 Waltz

For a guy who got lost on his way to the bathroom, Ukyo thought, leaning into his arms and feeling as though she had come home, Ryoga wasn't that bad a dancer.

#03 Wishes

Wishes made on a falling star could be broken, Ukyo realized, after Ranma slipped a sparkling diamond ring onto Akane's finger, but Ryoga's strength couldn't be, and because of that she found that maybe she didn't need a wish to find happiness.

#04 Wonder

In his wanderings, Ryoga had seen a lot of strange and wonderful and beautiful things, but Ukyo topped them all when she stood at the door, smiled, and spoke those two simple words; "Welcome home."

#05 Worry

Though it was rather pointless, considering he had been wandering for years as a young boy and survived, Ukyo never stopped looking outside her door and never slept easy until Ryoga was back with her.

#06 Whimsy

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Ryoga hissed; "Oh, shut up! You never told me that you've never done a school play before," Ukyo replied irritably, "Now shut up and put the dress on, Cinderella!"

#07 Waste/Wasteland

_I hope they're happy_, Ryoga thought, as another Shi Shi Hokoudan turned the ground to ash around him; and somewhere else, Ukyo hoped she could try and wish Akane and Ranma the same thing, even as she let yet another okonomiyaki burn.

#08 Whiskey and rum

Drunk Ryoga was an interesting guy, Ukyo thought to herself, and even through the alcohol on his breath, she could taste the genuine sweetness on his lips.

#09 War

"How many times are you going to fight Ranma? I thought you weren't in love with Akane anymore!"; "I'm not, I swear! But that Ranma just pisses me off!"

#10 Weddings

Ukyo sat through the whole proceeding, smiling through a broken heart, gripping Ryoga's hand so tight that it throbbed painfully later on; but at the moment, Ryoga welcomed the pain, distracting him from the sight of Akane at the alter without him.

#11 Birthday

"WHAT KIND OF DUMBASS IS LATE FOR HIS OWN PARTY!" Ukyo screamed, smashing Ryoga into the ground with her spatula.

#12 Blessing

"Hurt her and I'll kill you," Ranma panted slowly, exhausted, laying next to him in the lot where everything began; "I would never," Ryoga began, but he passed out before he could finish his statement.

#13 Bias

"Ranma's a jerk and an asshole. He isn't worth crying over," Ryoga said slowly, wrapping an arm around her tightly; she knew that wasn't exactly fair, considering Ryoga's stance toward Ranma, but at the moment, she honestly didn't care.

#14 Burning

"God damn it Ryoga, I told you not to leave the okonomiyaki on the grill when you leave!"; "I wasn't trying to, I just turned to go get a spatula, and suddenly I was in Okinawa!"

#15 Breathing

"OW! What was that for?"; "YOU SNORE, JACKASS!"

#16 Breaking

There was a vein in Ukyo's forehead that looked about to burst, and she tapped her foot in a manner that made Ryoga swallow and sweat in fear; "I told you not to use the Breaking Point in the restaurant, jackass!"

#17 Belief

"I lost," Ryoga muttered, laying in the hospital bed, looking like he had fought a war (just one battle, but a battle he had wanted to win so _badly_); Ukyo smiled, brushing away his hair gently, whispering, "But I haven't lost faith you _will _win, one day."

#18 Balloon

It's only been a week since everything changed, and Ryoga comes by Ucchan's with a red balloon he picked up in Kyoto; the smile, sad and broken as it is, is worth ever step it took to bring it to her.

#19 Balcony

Ryoga tried to propose to her while she was leaning out the window (_to make it more romantic_, he said); tried being the key word, since that when he first started walking toward her, he ended up at the Cat Café spouting very bad Japanese translations of Shakespeare.

#20 Bane

"God, I hate you Ranma," Ryoga gritted out, kneeling with his head scraping the floor, and Ranma kept grinning all the while; "Well then, Ryoga, how can I say no to being your best man?"

#21 Quiet

She was so loud and boisterous, but that night, she cried and sobbed so quietly that Ryoga almost missed it when he was running away from the Dojo.

#22 Quirks

"Where do you get all of those headbands?" Ukyo asked, taking the offered garment from Ryoga to replace her lost ribbon; "Oh, here and there," Ryoga replied evasively, grinning.

#23 Question

"So... Uh... That is... will you..." Ryoga stuttered, and Ukyo rolled her eyes, snatching the ring and putting it on herself; "Yes, I will, and if you do this at the altar I swear I'll kick your ass!"

#24 Quarrel

It wasn't worth fighting with Ukyo, Ryoga had quickly come to realize; her temper was surprisingly short and her giant spatula was as hard as it looked.

#25 Quitting

It hurt, and Ryoga knew for a fact that ths fight was probably over, but Ukyo was still watching and there was still a little bit of strength in him; "Damn Ryoga, what the Hell does it take to knock you out!"

#26 Jump

"What were you thinking, you idiot!" Ukyo sobbed, beating his chest with her fists, knowing it wouldn't hurt but hoping it might break through, "You can't just go off this bridge and leave me!"

#27 Jester

For all his anger and bluster and raw power, Ukyo realized, giggling behind her hand, Ryoga was pretty ridiculous when he was lost.

#28 Jousting

"This is ridiculous," Akane muttered, and Ukyo nodded in agreement, rolling her eyes as Ryoga and Ranma charged each other yet again.

#29 Jewel

Her eyes were lovely, sparkling whether happy or angry, and it made it that much harder to find a ring that could outshine them.

#30 Just

"Is it really necessary to beat the crap out of Ranma just because of some bread and the fact that you were too stubborn to stop chasing him across China?"; Ryoga, for once, was actually stalled on his response.

#31 Smirk

Ryoga hated it when people smirked at him (especially Ranma, but that was a given), but Ukyo's was different; even when she was poking fun at him, he didn't feel nearly as irritated as he usually would.

#32 Sorrow

The day she was Ranma and Akane so happy, was also the first time she saw Ryoga cry.

#33 Stupidity

"You're an idiot," Ukyo mumbled, lightly smacking him upside the head, before kissing him softly; "But you're _my_ idiot."

#34 Serenade

"TURN THAT CRAP OFF!" Ukyo roared, dragging Ryoga inside before his God awful attempts at romance destroyed her ears any more.

#35 Sarcasm

"You and Ukyo? Man, and I thought the fact that I fell in love with the tomboy was a curve ball," Ranma joked, elbowing Ryoga with a grin; "So no one was surprised, huh?" Ryoga shot back, a tiny smirk on his face.

#36 Sordid

"You're living _with her_!" Ranma accused, angered into defending his friend's honor; "Yeah, well you lived with Akane even longer!" Ryoga shot back, and answered with his fist as well.

#37 Soliloquy

Ryoga so used to being alone, was accustomed to talking about his feelings out loud, and thus, Ukyo was completely blind sided when she heard Ryoga rehearsing how to confess his love for her.

#38 Sojourn

The worst part about fighting with Ryoga, Ukyo realized after that very first argument, was that you never knew when he'd come back from his lone wanderings.

#39 Share

Sharing a bed, Ryoga realized, smiling and stroking Ukyo's cheek, was karmic payback for every night spent alone on the cold, hard ground.

#40 Solitary

He had been alone for so long, so many nights without another soul, but to lay down next to Ukyo felt as natural as breathing.

#41 Nowhere

"So, where's your husband today?" Akane asked, smiling knowingly as she leaned onto the counter; "Sometimes, I really don't know where," Ukyo said absently, flipping Akane's order expertly.

#42 Neutral

It was impossible to stay neutral when Ranma and Ryoga were fighting, they realized; Akane was always going to beat up Ranma for fighting with Ryoga and Ukyo was always going to smack Ryoga for fighting with Ranma.

#43 Nuance

It was hard to pick up on sometimes, Ranma thought, munching on his curry bread, but there was definitely something going on between Ukyo and Ryoga; he'd stake his last yen on it.

#44 Near

Ryoga did his best to stay close to Ucchan's, but it was inevitable that he'd wander off someplace much farther; Ukyo's only request was that he stay safe, and to "bring back something nice".

#45 Natural

"You're good at this," Ukyo complimented, watching Ryoga toss another plate to a customer; "Eh, it's not that hard," Ryoga replied, going through the same motions he did when throwing his bandannas.

#46 Horizon

"The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"; "Yes, you are."

#47 Valiant

Ryoga might not have been the smartest guy, or the easiest to find, but he was no quitter and Ukyo respected that from day one.

#48 Virtuous

"He's got a lot of heart, doesn't he?" Ranma commented, smirking as Ukyo watched, wide eyed with fascination and a hint of something softer, as Ryoga pushed another little girl on the swings.

#49 Victory

Sometimes, Ryoga realized, breathing in Ukyo and holding her to him, you can snatch something greater than what you lost.

#50 Defeat

They had both lost what they were fighting for, but in the ashes of their dreams, they found each other.


End file.
